Big Ten Conference
ROSEMONT, IL (WSAU) — The latest chapter in what has been the strange, twisting story of the 2020 college football season could be written this January.
The Big Ten Conference is reportedly finalizing an abbreviated schedule that would have schools kick off games in early January with a league championship game sometime in March.
USA Today Wisconsin reports that the league would combat the unpredictable weather and cold winter temps by attempting to lease out the domed NFL stadiums within its footprint- Ford Field in Detroit, US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and possibly the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. Other domed stadiums in the midwest could be considered.
Many in the league say the schedule would have to be around eight games so student-athletes aren’t playing two full seasons in one calendar year. That includes Ohio State Coach Ryan Day and Badgers coach Paul Cryst and AD Barry Alvarez. Others have noted that the earlier start date would also allow NFL prospects to get as much game film as possible to scouts before the Draft in late April.
It’s reported that the conference could release the early 2021 schedule as soon as next week. When asked about it on The Dan Dakich Show on sports talk radio in Indianapolis, Alvarez confirmed the league was working on the schedule but said he “couldn’t leak it.”
The Big Ten originally announced they would cancel all non-conference games and play a ten-game league schedule in 2020 ending with the championship game in Indy. However just days after the revised schedule was released, the league announced the cancelation of all fall sports including football, volleyball, soccer, and cross country.
Many in the college football world have been critical of a lack of a uniform approach to the 2020 season at the Division I FBS level. The Big Ten is one of four leagues and three schools to announce that they have canceled their fall schedules while leaving open the possibility of a spring season.
Those other leagues included the PAC 12, Mountain West, and Mid-American Conference. The University of Connecticut, University of Massachusets, and Old Dominion University also called off their seasons. Both UCONN and UMASS are independents, ODU is a member of Conference USA.
Other leagues have announced reduced or conference-only schedules such as the Big 12, ACC, and SEC. The Sun Belt has also committed to playing in 2020.
It’s unclear how the reduced schedules will impact the FBS postseason, which consists of some 40 bowl games populated by teams who finish with a record of 6-6 or better. Thus far only one game has been canceled, the Redbox Bowl in Santa Claira, CA. The bowl system is also used to determine the FBS champion through the College Football Playoff.
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